MUMBAI: GATEWAY OF DISCOVERY

(Pic: Satheesh Nair)

Unlike Delhi, Mumbai has an organisation exclusively devoted to walks. The Bombay Heritage Walk (BHW) was started by architects Abha Bahl and Brinda Gaitonde on World Heritage Day (18 April) in 1999 and conducts walks professionally. There are public walks held once a month between September and February that are open to all, and private walks that are held thrice a week throughout the year. Says Bahl, “In public walks, the average age of participants, mostly citizens of the metropolis, is 35-40 years. The audience in private walks comprises general tourists, visiting scholars, corporate guests and touring graduate students, average age being 45-50 years, and males outnumbering females 60:40.”

Popular routes are Kala Ghoda and the Fort area, covering the Gateway of India, Colaba Causeway, the Victorian markets on D.N. Road, the historic Bombay University library, Elphinstone College and the David Sassoon library. A heritage walk is also organised around the Banganga Tank, which is one of the oldest Hindu pilgrimage places in Mumbai. The Banganga Tank , despite its proximity to the sea, is a fresh water tank fed by an underground spring and is surrounded by temples and memorials.

(Businessworld Issue Dated 9-15 June 2009)